Volume 15, Number 4
Jul 1991

Preservation Needs in Science

All text under each discipline heading, except that enclosed in
brackets, is quoted selectively from the pages of the RLG publication
described in the second paragraph, and reprinted here by permission
of the Research Libraries Group.

The Research Libraries Group (RLG), a consortium of over 100 major
universities and research institutions in the U.S., was formed
in 1974 to share cataloging and other information through MIN,
the Research Libraries Information Network. It has greatly expanded
its function since then. One of its four principal programs is
Preservation, which in 1990 included management of four microfilming
projects (sponsored in large part by NEH), and development of
a collection-based preservation needs assessment tool.

To help plan where to focus future efforts, RLG recently surveyed
information needs in all academic disciplines(the humanities,
social sciences and sciences), and published reports in 1988,
1989 and 1991. The report on the sciences is Information
Needs in the Sciences: An Assessment, by Constance C. Gould
and Karla Pearce (79 pages, acid-free paper, first copy available
without charge from RLG, 1200 Villa St., Mountain View, CA 94041-1100,
415/691-2236). Preservation needs (or absence of needs) in the
various science disciplines and the importance of access to the
older literature are discussed on 20 of its 79 pages.

The science report was prepared as part of RLG's Program for Research
Information Management (PRIMA), which is identifying the types
of information researchers need better access to, and encouraging
development of new data resources. Over 130 teachers, researchers
and others closely connected with research were consulted or interviewed
in its preparation. Although the report shows that an amazing
amount of hard work was done to make it as complete and accurate
as possible, the authors emphasize that it is only a preliminary
needs assessment.

The reality of preservation needs in science is not often acknowledged,
even by scientists (AN, April 1990, p. 30), much
less described in print. So when a report like this comes along,
it deserves to be made known in the preservation community, especially
among those who will be choosing which materials to preserve,
and by which method. Permission has been obtained to reprint
the extracts from the report that relate to preservation. Sometime
adjacent text has been included to provide a context. For the
present purpose, preservation is broadly defined: it includes
everything from going out and getting the material (saving it
from the dump), to ranking a copy of it, to conserving the original.

Since the report is organized first by scientific discipline,
then by major and minor headings, perhaps an overview, would be
helpful here, although the headings will not be transcribed into
the text. Disciplines covered are:

Not all major headings were applicable to all disciplines. Preservation
was mentioned under every heading but "Current Awareness"
and "Handbooks & Compilations."

Physics

An important segment of monographic literature--books published
after the mid-19th century is deteriorating rapidly because it
is printed on high acid paper. Several research libraries have
undertaken to microfilm volumes in the history of science, including
physics. However, because of the widespread misconception that
research scientists do not need older materials, preservation
microfilming of these books in general receives a law priority....

Increased attention should be given to the preservation of deteriorating
physics monographs.

Chemistry

Chemical information is distinctive in that it deals with atomic
and molecular species, which are precisely and unambiguously defined
by their molecular structure. Since chemical and physical properties
do not change over tine, older literature is as essential as current
literature.... Fast access to current literature certainly ranks
first among chemists' information needs, but access to retrospective
literature is probably a close second.... It is important to ensure
access to older chemistry journals that are deteriorating. Generally,
preservation of the intellectual content rather than the physical
document will suffice.

Biology

Like research in other science disciplines, research in biology
is impossible without reference to previous research....

[Six electronic indexes are briefly described and evaluated.]
All of the above are valuable tools; one drawback noted by researchers,
which reflects their dependence on older literature as well as
current, is the lack of retrospective coverage in the online indexes
.... Formerly, articles consisted of text accompanied by line
drawings or photographs.... Now, a smaller quantity of text is
accompanied by a large quantity of formulae, charts, tables, color
photographs, and complex illustrations.... Research reports published
before the mid-1960s will continue to be important....

Geosciences

Geoscience has a strongly historical orientation. Old observational
data are still useful even if in many cases the methods of observation
or analysis have changed.... The sheer number of titles alone
required for a research collection poses a challenge. Further,
by comparison with other disciplines, geoscience materials are
very diverse with respect to date and place of publication, subject,
the variety of formats, and types of information sources....

Preservation is also a concern: many [maps] are printed on acid
paper, which deteriorates over time. In addition, they often
suffer wear and tear when taken into the field. Because maps
are generally not bound, they tend to be pilfered from library
collections. Finally, computer-generated maps may be lost when
they are not saved in hard copy form or when they are saved on
magnetic media that may become obsolete.... Geologists especially
value guidebooks, theses, and dissertations for their detailed
descriptions and analyses of outcrops and features-in effect,
the original data sets of geoscience research.... older serials,
maps, reports, guidebooks, and theses contain valuable observations.
Even if the earlier analyses are no longer valid, the facts these
works contain retain their value. Egyptian flood control reports
from the 1930s, for example, are used to provide data for dam
construction; Soviet geologic surveys dating from the 1930s, because
they describe natural seismic activity in the years preceding
the development of the atomic bomb), can be used by scientists
to derive a baseline for the purpose of nuclear test monitoring.
But these materials are seldom catalogued in a bibliographic
utility, thus limiting the likelihood they will be used by anyone
other than local researchers. Also, many older materials have
seriously deteriorated. In addition to better bibliographic control,
preservation of older materials, preferably through some means
of full-size facsimile reproduction rather than microform, needs
attention....

Much of the currently generated information is now produced in
machine-readable form. But the bewildering array of data being
collected presents problems of its own. Faced with a torrent
of information, researchers are equipped with few means to determine
if the information they need exists and, if it does, where it
can be located. For instance, researchers now know that the hole
in the Antarctic ozone layer discovered in 1986 was in fact recorded
ten years earlier by a satellite, but the tapes had lain mused
in a vast NASA archives

The problem promises to become more acute. According to recent
estimates, spacecraft will produce between 1990 and 1995 as much
information as they did in the previous 20 years. As the quantity
of information grows, questions and difficulties surrounding the
management of it also mount....

Astronomy

Astronomy data, largely graphic and numeric rather than textual,
retain their value indefinitely. Observers report phenomena with
the highest possible degree of accuracy, with the knowledge that
other researchers will base theories on them. In fact, many observations
recorded in the Middle Ages are as useful as those made yesterday....
Since some predictions [astronomers] make are based on old information,
the historical literature is essential for in-depth research....

Older astronomy literature contains information that is valuable
and used today. Many collections of older literature exist and
are most often owned by observatories established in the 19th
century or earlier. For example, the library at the Naval Observatory
in Washington, D.C., holds about 75,000 volumes covering the histories
of astronomy, astrometry, and navigation and reports from other
great observatories worldwide. Unfortunately, some of the older
astronomy literature exists in unique copies printed on high-acid
paper, which is in danger of disintegrating....

To understand and identify new phenomenon theorists must have
access to seemingly limitless amounts of observational data, regardless
of when they are recorded. Often, later astronomers examine and
explain earlier observations and reinterpret them. For instance,
radio frequency radiation from space was first recorded in 1932
but not understood. It was not until 1945 that a radio telescope
was built, allowing study of the radio waves and their sources
and explanation of the phenomenon.... Star catalogs have long
been one of the staples of astronomy research. Old bright star
catalogs are still as useful as when they were first produced,
since, as one astronomer pointed out, "the bright stars are
still in the saw place."...

Photographic plates are an important resource, especially for
observations of single-occurrence events, but are quite old and
deteriorating rapidly. They are expensive to reproduce, but fortunately
it is now possible to put them in electronic format, which will
preserve the intellectual content if not the plate itself. In
fact, the photographic plates of several big surveys such as the
Palamar Sky Survey have recently been digitized and will be available
to astronomers in the near future. Although the magnitude is
still too "coarse" for comparing any but the brighter
stars, the electronic format allows for correlating them with
objects that emit radio waves It has been estimated that NASA
has created more than 1.2 million magnetic tapes since the agency's
creation in 1958; many of these contain information of great potential
value to astronomers. Yet much of the information gathered has
been so poorly labeled and stored that it is all but-or even entirely-inaccessible.
The problem are familiar: code books describing how to use the
tapes have been lost, tapes have been physically , and the hardware
necessary to read older tapes no longer functions. Most significant,
no standard method for describing and cataloging the tapes exists....
Projects to preserve deteriorating photographic p and print collections,
essential resources for astronomy research, are needed.

Engineering

Older data are often useful. When petroleum became more expensive
in the mid-1970s, for example, research in other fossil fuels
going as far back as the 1920s was heavily consulted.... Engineers
use virtually all forms of published material. Manuals and handbooks
for project design, books for background material, journals and
symposia for both current and older information, computerized
data and indexes-all are widely used and valuable sources of information
.... A technical report may contain the germ of an idea 30 years
old that can be explained with a new theory. It may describe a
manufacturing process that has not changed substantially in 20
years. It may establish scientific precedence. Consequently,
older technical reports are often called for but require more
ingenuity to track dawn than recent ones.

Mathematics

Knowledge in mathematics is cumulative, and the different areas-e.g.,
algebra, geometry, calculus-are closely intertwined. Mathematical
literature retains its value over a long period of tire, and mathematicians
frequently make use of the core literature.... Nearly all significant
published information is in print format.... Serials and monographs,
new and old, are absolutely vital to the research of most mathematicians.
Active use of old serials, some dating from the early 19th century,
is common. Use of older monographs is also frequent.... Librarians
point out that one or two locations for a monograph do not adequately
support research use and that the addition of information about
other important mathematics collections would enhance research
access.

In the case of older materials, preservation issues affect access.
At sow institutions, monographic series and serials have been
microfilmed for preservation purposes. Users, however, object
to the inconvenience of microfilm, especially for monographs.
It is more suitable for serials, since a single article can be
printed without great expense.... A corollary of the collection
situation is that, increasingly, mathematicians will be required
to go beyond the department library and to rely on libraries at
other institutions for the information they need. An efficient
and affordable document transmission capability will be necessary
to support their needs....

Hard copy reformatting (through photocopy) of older monographs
is the preferred way to provide access in many libraries. Since
photocopying is not coordinated among libraries, this practice
has led to duplication of effort. This is generally not the case
with preservation microform, which are produced only after a careful
search for records of existing microforms is made. Cooperative
preservation projects, in conjunction with retrospective conversion
of card catalog records of important older collections, would
improve access to older materials.

Because the discipline and the technology on which it depends
are changing so rapidly, computer scientists use retrospective
literature infrequently. According to one researcher, most computer
science literature is obsolete after five years. Thus, computer
scientists are on the whole less dependent on access to the historical
archives of the research library than other scientists.

Conclusion

Unpublished research: Just as journal literature has grown, so
has the volume of unpublished information such as preprints, technical
reports, and conference papers, important to certain science disciplines
and subdisciplines. These materials present problem of their
own: knowledge of them tends to be confined to informal networks;
they are difficult to identify, collect, and manage; and access
is as haphazard as the management of them....

Primary data: Scientists must cope with scientific data that existed
in a much smaller quantity or did not exist at all 20 years ago.
Computers and increasingly sophisticated instruments such as
linear accelerators and remote-sensing devices produce and store
enormous quantities of data. Much of this information, although
often produced at great expense and useful to a broad audience,
is poorly managed and consequently under-utilized .

Areas of opportunity: Preserving important older materials
that have deteriorated.